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The Leinster Regiment Battalions served in the following theatres from 4 August 1914 to the Peace Declaration in 1918. The Reserve & Extra Reserve Battalions also provided soldiers for the 1st, 2nd & Service Battalions to replace those severely wounded or lost in action.
- 1st Battalion moved from Fyzabad to the UK via Bombay where on the 16 October they embarked for Plymouth (UK) landing on 16 November 1914. With the 27 Division they landed at Le Havre (France) on 20 December 1914. Fought in France throughout the next year the embarked from Marseilles for Salonika on the 26 November 1915 arriving on 11 December.
On the 14 September the battalion left Salonika for Alexandria arriving 4 days later. Until 31 October 1918 the battalion was with the 10th Division near Nablus, Palestine.
- 2nd Battalion were in Cork, Ireland, and moved through England ( Cambridge & Newmarket) to arrive in St Nazaire on the 12 September 1914. They served in France & Belgium throughout the period participating in the battles of Flanders, the Somme and Paschendale.
- 3rd Battalion (Reserves) were in Birr (Ireland) and traveled to Cork remaining until November 1917 when they transferred to Portsmouth Garrison in England.
- 4th Battalion (Extra Reserves) were in Maryborough (Ireland) and served throughout the period in Ireland until May 1915 when they moved to Devonport (Plymouth, England). In September 1915 they returned to Ireland at the Curragh (1915) Limerick (1916) Tralee (1917) and in November 1917 were amalgamated with the 3rd battalion in Portsmouth England.
- 5th battalion (extra Reserves) were in Drogheda (Ireland) and remained in Ireland until May 1915 when they moved to Plymouth England. In September 1915 they returned to garrison duties at Mullingar (Ireland) The Curragh (1916) Drogheda (1917) Boyle (1917) Birr (1917), Moved to Glencorse (Scotland) near Edinburgh in November 1917 and amalgamated with the 3rd battalion in Portsmouth May 1918.
- 6th battalion were formed in Dublin in August 1914 as a Service Battalion, after training in The Curragh, Birr and Basingstoke (England), they sailed from Liverpool in July 1915 to land at Anzac (attached to the Australian & New Zealand Corps) in August 1915. In October 1915 they moved to Salonika. In September 1917 the battalion moved to Alexandria (Egypt) and in May 1918 embarked for Marseilles (France) where they served with the 14th, the 34th and 66th Divisions. The battalion was disbanded in Abancourt in September 1918.
- 7th battalion were formed in Fermoy in October 1914 as a Service Battalion. They trained in Kilworth and at Blackdown (England) and in December 1915 landed at Le Havre France and continued to serve throughout the period in France until disbanded in December 1918 at Trincourt.
If you cannot find which Regiment or battalion your ancestor served in during the Great War 1914-18 all is not lost, but you will require a lot of time and a lot of patience. Campaign medals were awarded to soldiers and the good news is that there will be one of only four campaign medals that Leinster Soldiers will have been awarded during the First World War. The next piece of good news is that all the names are indexed and arranged in surname order, then sorted on the forename initial, then sorted on the second forename initial. Soldiers with only a single forename are at the front of the list. Now the bad news, the sort is on the initial of the forename not the name, so if you are looking for John Doe you would look for Doe J, but the "J" is not sorted so could be Doe Jack, Doe Julian, before you get to Doe John. The trouble is you may have to look through many Doe J before you find John.
So far so good, except that there are 3,273 volumes of names! But back to the good news, the volumes are indexed on fiche, and each fiche contains 360 cards. Be not faint hearted though because when you do find your index card you will discover your ancestor's Corps or Regiment, rank, service or regimental number, the medals awarded, which medal roll and page number, theatre of war information and any remarks. You can take a photo copy of the entry when you find it.
Now you have the data from the index you can find the entry in the medal roll. You may need some assistance to do that as it is a little convoluted, not difficult you just have to be methodical. The good news is that the PRO have a leaflet available in the reading room to show you, step by step, how to do it. Just pick up a copy of the PRO leaflet WO 329 First World War Service Medals from the Reference Table when you first enter the Microfiche Room.
Also known as the Mons Star was awarded to those soldiers who were part of the British Expeditionary Force between August to November 1914.
This medal was awarded to all soldiers who served up to 31st December 1915 and who had not received the Mons Star.
This medal was awarded to all who served overseas throughout 1914 to 1918
This medal was awarded to those who served in a "theatre of war"
Awarded to regular soldiers and NCOs after 22 years continuous service, Rolls up to 1953 are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 102.
Gallantry medals were awarded on individual merit. All gallantry awards were published in the London Gazette. Tracing citations for gallantry awards can be difficult as not all medals have official indexes. The Army Medal Office indexes can be viewed on microfiche. There is one index for the DCM, one for the MM & MSM and one for DSO & MC. There is also an index for an award known as Mentioned in Dispatches (MiDs).
Awarded to an NCO, and medal rolls up to 1919 are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 101. There are two indexes that identify the surname, forename, unit, rank, and service number.
Awarded for gallantry to NCOs and privates, and medal rolls are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 146. A card index shows the surname, the initials, unit, rank, service number and the date of the issue of the London Gazette in which the award was announced. Sometimes it is possible to get a copy of the citation from the Army Medal Office, Government Office Buildings, Worcester Road, Droitwich, Worcestershire WR9 8AU.
Awarded for gallantry to junior officers and medal rolls are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 389. Information at the PRO can be more detailed than that in the London Gazette because sometimes details of the action are included. Award details are maintained in record books and noted under the date of the award announcement. If you go to the PRO at Kew there is a book called "The DSO 1886 - 1923" which is readily available on the open shelves and in this you can identify the date of announcement to help locate the right document (piece) in WO 389/1-8. The "piece" is the record book and there are eight of them.
Book 1 Nov 1914 - May 1916 Book 2 Jun 1916- Nov 1916 Book 3 Dec 1916-May 1917 Book 4 Jun 1917-Aug 1917 Book 5 Sep 1917-Apr 1918 Book 6 Jan 1918-SAug 1918 Book 7 July 1918- Fen 1919 Book 8 1919-1985
Awarded for gallantry to all ranks and medal rolls are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 98 & CAB 106. The Military Historical Society holds biographical information on all those awarded the Victoria Cross.
Awarded for gallantry to Officers below the rank of Captain and Sergeant Majors (Warrant Officers) medal rolls are maintained at the PRO in Class WO 389/9-24
The Military Cross awards are indexed for the period 1914 - 1938 so the period of the Great War is covered in full. There are 16 indexes that are arranged alphabetically. Information at the PRO can be more detailed than that in the London Gazette because sometimes details of the action are included.
The London Gazette was the place where gallantry awards were announced (in addition to other service announcements). The PRO in Kew holds a full set of the London Gazette in record class ZJ1for the period of interest. Awards indexes are available in the Microfilm Reading Room in sections of MSM, MM or MiD. From the microfiche you can read either the publication date or a reference number between 59 and 69 to cover the period Jan - October 1919. One reference is also referred to as the Peace Gazette.